I apologize I can’t find my intro post. I will be coming back to Mini after about 8 years off. I had a base 07 that was the best car I ever had. I had a countryman S POS but the carmax had been altered. An 08 that lasted a weekend.

what models in my price range are to be avoided? Like the second generation S is an automatic project car. I saw 2016 for $16k that looks good. My budget is about $20k. I see quite many with low miles. Are later model S ok to get? Maybe 2016-2020 is what is plentiful without breaking the budget.

thanks